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new music

Backstreet’s Back in more than one way. A new song on the radio, a new album on the way and a forthcoming tour to follow are all in the works for Kevin, Nick, A.J., Brian and Howie. The fellas, who are marking their 25th year as a group, stopped by our booth Backstage at The Billboard Music Awards to chat with me about the new projects and their existing residency at Planet Hollywood.

The ladies of Little Mix took a quick break from “The Glory Days Tour” in Scotland to chat with me about the “Reggaeton Lento” remix with CNCO, their favorite Starbucks orders and their plan to rest and relax for the holidays, happily noting that for the first time in a while, they have “a beautiful two months off.”
Little Mix will release “Glory Days: The Platinum Edition” on November 24.

TLC’s Chilli called in to chat about the group’s tour with En Vogue, upcoming final studio album, awkward moments on stage and those Nick Cannon rumors.
Check out TLC and En Vogue on tour later this month: September 25 at the NYCB Theater in Westbury, N.Y. and the 26 at the Wellmont Theater in Monclair, N.J.

The list of musical juggernauts releasing new music ahead of the holidays grew last week, as Coldplay announced it will release its seventh studio album on December 4.

Some are speculating that it will be the band’s last album after an interview that lead singer Chris Martin gave to then-BBC Radio DJ Zane Lowe in December of last year.

“It’s our seventh thing, and the way we look at it, it’s like the last Harry Potter book or something like that,” Martin told Lowe. “Not to say that there might not be another thing one day, but this is the completion of something.”

If the band was coming off any album cycle other than its last, I might completely buy in to the notion that Coldplay is getting ready to call it a day. But 2014’s Ghost Stories was far from a typical go-around for the quartet. The tone of the album was quite subdued and personal, save the Avicii-produced, “A Sky Full Of Stars.” Coldplay did not tour behind the LP either; opting instead for a handful of intimate shows around the album’s release. The band eventually dropped a live compilation of those performances.

“I have to think of it as the final thing we’re doing,” Martin revealed to Lowe (he later told BBC Radio that at least one of his band mates wasn’t happy with the way he characterized the new project). “Otherwise we wouldn’t put everything into it.”
Are they putting everything in to it because of Ghost Stories? Could the band’s love for writing, recording, releasing and touring behind songs be reignited with the new project? Is Coldplay simply heading in a new musical direction after this cycle completes? As someone that covers music but is also admittedly a big fan of the group, I find these questions practical given the circumstances, and certainly don’t believe that anything is a foregone conclusion yet.

Nonetheless, Martin said the band will tour globally behind A Head Full Of Dreams following its December release.

“Coldplay have never enjoyed making a record more than this one,” a release announcing the new music stated on the band’s official website. “Nor have they been happier with the results. And, this time, they plan to take it around the world.”

The first single most definitely reflects the change in mood from the last album; an upbeat song called “Adventure Of A Lifetime,” hit iTunes last Friday. Coldplay collaborated with production duo Stargate (“Firework,” “Black Widow,” “Worth It” to name a few) for A Head Full Of Dreams. The project also features contributions from Tove Lo, Beyonce, Merry Clayton and Noel Gallagher.

A Head Full Of Dreams will contain 11 tracks and a bonus song and is available for pre-order now.